Joss started toward him but on seeing his expression, she backed off.
At last, Dessy whirled around and stomped away from him.
As she did, Six tapped him on the elbow. "Walk with me, Pi." Without waiting to see if he would follow, Six headed further away.
Curiosity prodded him. He joined Six. "What?"
The man set down his pack. "This should put us out of earshot."
"If you're going to tell me you were right about Dessy badmouthing you, save it. I already agreed. We both saw her do it."
"Wasn't my intention, Pi. I care about you too much to let you screw up."
"Screw up?" He patted his own chest. "Screw up? Me?"
"Yeah, you. In a minute, you're going to walk into the middle of whatever it is Joss and your sister don't want to tell you about. If you're holding your family at arm's length it's going to make it that much harder."
"What is it you suggest I do? Show them I'm weak by apologizing?"
"So your apology to me made you weak?"
"I'm your friend. Friends apologize. A king does not."
"Wow." Six clapped soundlessly. "You are so full of--"
"Six! Do not curse at me." He jabbed a finger at the ground. "I had enough of that from my father."
"You were kinda hard on Sissy back there."
He blinked. "Who?"
"Sissy. You know. Little sister."
"Sissy?" Pietas drew himself up to his full height. "Did I hear you call Dessy ap Lorectic, Lieutenant Chancellor of the High Council, 'Sissy'?"
"Yeah. That's the one. You were out of line."
"Me? How can you possibly--" He jammed both hands on his hips. "You saw what she did. You know how she intended it. What was I supposed to do? Ask her to play nice? Tell me you didn't buy what she said about being sorry."
"Oh, no. Not for a nanosecond."
He threw up his hands. "Then what?"
"You treated the woman like a teenaged girl in front of her peers."
"Like a--" He pinched the bridge of his nose, calming himself before speaking. He took a cleansing breath, blew it all out. "You have no right to say anything about how I treat my sister."
"Don't I? I'm the sole person here who'd dare. The others are afraid."
Pietas took two huge steps toward Six. If the man had any brains, he'd have stepped back. Instead, he stood there, a defiant rabbit daring the eagle to extend one claw.
Or knowing that he wouldn't.
How he longed to smack that smile off Six's face.
"Look, Pi, I'd always heard your people were afraid of you. Until today, I didn't understand why."
He turned his back, arms folded. "Some friend you are."
"Friends don't stand by and watch other friends mistreat women."
"Mistreat--" He grabbed his own hair and tightened a fist around it, fighting to control his temper. "Six." He dared not look at the man. "That woman you say needs protecting would slaughter you without a second thought. My sister can defend herself. She doesn't need you or anyone else." He faced the man. "She'd gut you for trying."
"She didn't seem capable with you. You held her without even twitching."
"It doesn't show, but I was in the fight of my life with her. She can resist Beguile but she's not immune to it. Neither are you or the others."
"You used some kind of Ultra superpower thingy on me?"
"Superpow-- No. There are no such things. Beguile is an innate ability we have but humans don't. Sometimes called Dust. It lets me mask what I'm doing. You saw the same illusion I sent her. Once she accepted the premise that she couldn't free herself, she had no way to escape."
"Okay, I gotta admit that would be cool. But not against your own sister."
"Until you've had a sister who's pestered you for over nineteen hundred years, you have no room to talk."
Six looked him over. "Whatever. Fact is, you humiliated her. She's not going to forgive you."
"My problem."
"You put Armand and Philippe in their place too."
"I did no such thing."
"Look, Pi, I come up to your chest and you come up to the top of theirs. They're huge. Together, they weigh, what? Three times what you do? They could snap you in half if they had a mind to."
"You are correct."
"How's it feel using them for puppets?"
"Six!" He stiffened. "They are not puppets."
"Aren't they? They weren't moving unless you or Dessy allowed it. Gotta say, wasn't easy to watch. Did you do that when you were kids?"
"They never--"
"Don't bother. I know the story. They stayed outside the compound your family was in and guarded it so nobody'd know you were born instead of hatched."
"Ultras are created, not hatched."
"So since you never met the twins until you were grown up, I'm guessing you don't owe them any loyalty."
How could this human be so wrong about every detail yet possess the facts? "I'll have you know I owe them everything."
"Do you? You and Dessy were adults before you started dragging them into the middle of your fights."
"We didn't drag them anywhere. Dessy tried to compel them to help her. I countermanded her psychic order."
"You're so good at it those guys almost died. Or didn't you notice they were trying to breathe while you were busy having your brother-sister tantrum?"
Pietas reined in the stab of empathic ice he longed to send Six's way. "You have no right to judge me."
"I--" Six patted his chest "--am the sole person here who will." Six rubbed his temples. "You know, Pi, someday you're gonna go down in history as the greatest king in the history of the galaxy, but you have a lot to learn."
"The greatest--" He lifted his chin. "I'm sorry. What did you call me?"
"The greatest king in the history of the galaxy. Ah, you admire that title."
"A bit. Coming from a mortal."
"I thought you called me a Quasimodo."
Pietas bit his lips to keep from laughing, but a chuckle escaped.
"What's so funny?"
He could not bite back a laugh. "Quasi-immortal. You're no hunchback."
Six's face screwed up. "Quasimodo means hunchback?"
"It's a reference to literature. No reason to assume you'd get it."
"I haven't read any of the modern stuff."
Pietas burst into laughter, but bit his lip, trying to stop. "Sorry."
"You're laughing at me?"
Pietas tried but failed to keep a straight face. A laugh escaped. "Yes." He held up a hand, again attempting to control his laughter. "I'm sorry. Why is that so funny? I swear, you get me laughing at the most awkward times."
"What can I say? That's my superpower."
Pietas laughed again.
Through the trees, his sister and Joss drew close together, peering at him. His laughter must have confused them.
Pietas turned his back. "Sorry. You were saying."
"You need to think long term."
"A mortal, telling an immortal that. Talk about irony."
"Are you gonna listen or what?"
"Sorry." He made a rolling gesture. "Continue."
"What I mean is, you won't be marooned here all your life. You need to start thinking about the future. No prison can hold you. Not for long. Once you're free of this place, you're gonna gather whoever will dare to follow. Any army you lead will be invincible. You'll cut a swath across the galaxy."
He had the sense of listening to prophecy.
It was his current misfortune to be stranded on a planet barren of technology and no means of escape. Someday, however, he would find a way.
No. He would create a way.
"Six, thank you. How I love your heart! If I had an army of soldiers with your heart, I could indeed rule the galaxy."
"Before you get to be an unforgettable king, you've got some hard lessons to learn. Just tellin' it how I see it."
"Lessons?" He had not forgotten the future for an instant, but perhaps
that failed to make itself known. "I accept your premise. So, my friend, I suppose you're the man to teach me how to be king."
Six chuckled. "You don't need help in that department. I'm going to teach you how to be an awesome big brother."
"You? An only child?" He scoffed. "By your own admission, you don't even get along with your own cousins."
"Forget it. I didn't realize how scared you were of Dessy."
"Scared? Of Dessy?" Pietas patted his chest. "I fear no one, least of all my little sister."
"Oh, yeah? Humans have this saying." The mortal crossed his arms over his chest and lifted his chin. "Shut up and prove it."
Chapter Eight
"He made Pietas laugh." Joss looped her arm through Dessy's. "I've never heard him laugh. Chuckle, perhaps. But not a loud laugh. Not like that. He sounded happy."
The dark-haired beauty lifted one shoulder. "As if I care."
A stone's throw away through the forest, Pietas and Six continued to talk.
"Oh, come now. How often have you heard your brother laugh aloud? Or so often? He's amused by things now and then, but a belly laugh?" She squeezed Dessy's arm. "I've known him since he was sixteen and I doubt he's ever laughed this much."
"Yeah, well, he's always been a killjoy."
"You know I love you, but that was dumb."
"No, I'm serious. He is."
"I meant the thing with his mask and you know it." Folding her hands, Joss quieted herself. She loved these brother-sister twins, but put them together and they produced nothing but sparks. Unless they worked together, it heralded nothing less than the ruination of their people. Possibly, their extinction. No new generations of Ultras were coming forth. "Dessy. My dear." Joss took her hand. "Come over here and sit with me a minute." She perched on a fallen log and patted a space beside her.
"I'll stand." Dessy crossed her arms. "If you're planning to lecture me again about respecting my brother's position as Chancellor of the Council, you can forget it."
Joss patted the log again. "Sit."
"Oh, here it comes. A lecture."
"Sit."
With a roll of storm-gray eyes, Dessy complied. "Joss, I don't have time for this."
Some things never changed. "Your brother often starts discussions with me with those same words."
"Fine! Say what you want to say. I can't stop you."
How alike they were, for being so different. "He says that too."
"Can we get on with it?"
Mumbling to herself, Joss rubbed at the twitch in one eyelid.
"Excuse me?" Dessy twisted toward her. "What does 'children in adult bodies' mean?"
"I'm sorry you heard that, but since you did, it means age has nothing to do with maturity. Now, I want you to listen to me." She ignored the aggravating twitch and focused on Dessy. "Your mother is one of my dearest friends. We were created together."
"I know. She idolizes you."
Joss patted Dessy's hand. "After your father and Pietas had their falling out and he left home, I was the first person she contacted. She asked me to find your brother and make sure he was taken care of. Imagine the shock of finding out the woman you love like a sister had conceived and given birth to twins, then raised them to teenagers without saying one single word. I can't believe she kept it secret for so many years."
"She had no choice. She--"
"I know, dear. I know." If humans had known Helia and Mahikos were fertile, they'd have slaughtered them. Immortals who could reproduce had no need of mortals. "Once I got over the shock, and--I admit, anger that she hadn't confided in me--I did what she asked. I've made it my mission to look after him ever since. And you, once I met you."
Dessy swung one foot. "I guess Tas explained why he left."
"He said he and his father argued. He had too much honor to go into detail."
The young woman glanced at her. "So then, what's this all about?"
"We're trapped here and have to make the best of it. You and Pietas need to work together. You must overcome your differences."
"Never going to happen, Joss. You have no idea what I did."
"On the contrary, I later met up with your father and he revealed the entire thing."
Dessy's shocked gaze met hers. "My father told you?"
"In graphic detail."
A look of faraway but remembered pain surfaced. As fast as it had come, Dessy returned to her usual indifference. "No. He wouldn't have. He spun you some lie."
"Your mother shared a similar story the next time I saw her."
The young woman stiffened and cast a disdainful look at Joss. "So what you're saying is my father didn't have as much honor as my brother."
"My dear, I think we both know the answer to that."
Dessy hopped off the log and took several big steps away. She stood there, back turned. "How long have you known?"
"Almost nineteen hundred years. Since four years after it happened."
"How many people have you told?"
"Not one soul."
"Not one." Twigs cracked underfoot as Dessy pivoted toward her. "In all this time? You've kept it a secret that long?"
"My dear, your mother and I are cut from the same cloth. We know how to keep a secret to protect those we love."
"So, you knew the year you and I met. The year I gained my freedom."
Joss poked one booted foot into the carpet of twigs and moss. "Yes."
"And you've never said anything in all that time."
"No, Dessy." Did others not see the pain within this young woman? Once Joss had glimpsed it, she could not unsee it. "I have not."
"Then why bring it up now?"
Because why hope for what you could not have? Why wish for peace when there was no life but war? Why long for harmony among a people bred for discord?
Yet, how could she say that to such a proud, frightened young woman? Dessy's biggest sin was simply being caught in the middle.
"I've hoped for centuries you and Pietas would make peace."
Dessy scoffed. "My brother hates the air I breathe."
Joss went to her at once. "Oh, my sweet girl." She took Dessy's hands. "You couldn't be more wrong. Pietas adores you."
"He has a funny way of showing it."
"Don't you see? That's why he's so angry."
Tears filled Dessy's silvery eyes. She blinked them away and gathered herself. "No. Pietas doesn't know the truth. Whatever lie my father told you or he made Mother believe, that's not what happened. When Pietas finds out he will never forgive me."
"Maybe you should start by forgiving yourself."
Her wistful smile faded to sorrow. "I wish I could."
"Come sit down. Surely, there's a way through--"
"No. There's no way through what I did to him. I don't deserve his forgiveness."
"Does your mother know the truth?"
A gasp escaped. "No!" She held up her hands as if warding off demons. "She can never know. Never."
In the distance, Pietas and Six laughed.
Dessy jerked her head toward them. Her regret splattered the air like blood.
Joss took an instinctual step back, but stopped and forced herself to accept the pain. She permitted its passage through herself and out into the aether.
Dessy truly suffered.
Living with this secret caused her agony. Whatever it was, even with all the powers Joss possessed, she could not break the walls hiding it.
Earlier, she'd picked up the projected thoughts of Pietas. He considered his sister a queen of ice. How wrong he was. Unusual, to hear him mind-speak. Always, he'd broadcast surface emotions but not pain. His brutal confinement had damaged him far beyond what he let others see. He ached, everywhere, even now.
She'd been unwise to acknowledge it. Now he would go to greater lengths to shield himself.
Beyond that, Pietas had changed in profound ways. Perhaps his confinement had honed other abilities. He'd fought to master telepathy ever since she'd known him, to no avail. He simply di
d not have the gift.
Until now. Why?
But how wrong he was about his sister. Dessy was anything but ice. She blazed with passion so deep, at times, it stung to be near her.
For an empath with a masterful ability to absorb the emotions of others, Pietas had no insight when it came to her. Apparently, it went both ways.
When the men laughed again, Dessy whirled around and returned to the log. As usual, the woman wasted no time on pleasantries and pointed to the space beside her.
"Joss, sit down. I'll tell you what happened, but you have to swear this goes no further. If I tell you, you'll have to keep my secret."
She should say no. Refuse to put herself in the middle of this angst-riddled family.
The scapegoat son.
The spoiled daughter.
The arrogant husband.
The forgotten wife.
Hatred and love, passion and contempt all bound in one small knot of misunderstood, unwilling-to-explain people. She should save her sanity and her inner peace and refuse to get involved. So many centuries had already passed.
Why did these four people insist on dragging the anchors of anger and unforgiveness that bound them? Their hearts pleaded for amnesty, tormented ghosts rattling chains in a haunted attic.
Do not do this, she reasoned with herself. This will bring you pain.
A tear glistened in the dust on Dessy's cheek. The young woman lifted her quivering chin, causing the tear to track down her face.
Joss brushed it away, perched beside her and took her hand. "All right, Dessy. I agree. Tell me. I promise, no matter what, I'll keep your secret."
Chapter Nine
Half the day gone and they hadn't reached the encampment, and now Six had him on this fool's errand of apologizing. Remember, Pi, true apologies state the wrong and offer a solemn promise not to repeat the offense.
A king could admit he'd erred. That was good leadership. But apologize to his sister? He halted.
When had Six ever steered him wrong?
Pietas forced himself to continue.
The rain had passed by the time he reached the others. By mutual agreement, Six would hunt and give the Ultras privacy. This apology was not for the human to hear.
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